


Collateral Damage

by L363ND_W0LF



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), Titans (Comics)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, DC Comics References, Established Relationship, F/M, Minor Character(s), Original Character(s), Pre-Flashpoint (DCU)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 21:34:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21585838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L363ND_W0LF/pseuds/L363ND_W0LF
Summary: After a hero is framed for a notorious murder, every person who has ever used their abilities to “help or harm” people have become fugitives of the law. All are ordered to turn themselves into the government or be hunted down. Having escaped the destruction of Titans Tower and with most of their friends captured, Beast Boy, Rose Wilson, and Raven must not only save their friends, but will also uncover a sinister plot to destroy the entire metahuman race.
Relationships: Garfield Logan/Raven, Garfield Logan/Rose Wilson
Comments: 10
Kudos: 19





	1. A Beginning Of An End

If there was one thing that he was good at, it was running. 

He could run for hours without tiring at all. He could run around the world in less than two seconds. He could even run fast enough to negate gravity and run across water. He could run away from all his problems until he left them in the dust. 

But this kind of problem was not something he could so easily run away from. 

There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. He knew that, sooner or later, he would be taken into custody. There would be a swarm of news reporters, shoving microphones into his face, desperate to get at least one response to their questions. 

He turned the corner, breathing heavily as the bark of police dogs followed him through the back alleys of the city. 

He didn’t mean for any of it to happen. He was just doing his job; trying to help out. But now the blood was on his hands — literally. Looking down at them, he was met with the sight of a dark red liquid that was the reason why he was being hunted down. 

Shouts of the police officers could be heard as they came closer to him, and the sound of a helicopter’s blades had joined into the symphony. The bright LED of its floodlights shone between buildings as they continued to search for him. 

He was running out of time. Eventually he would come across a dead end, and he would have no choice but to give himself up. It was also likely that, since they now knew who he was, that the D.E.O. had gotten involved, lending some of their hi-tech weaponry to the officers to help hunt him down. 

He looked up at the dark sky, the moon partially covered by clouds. The sound of about a dozen boots running towards him got louder until the area was illuminated with the searchlight of the helicopter. 

“Stop!” One of the heavily armored officers yelled at him. “Get down on the ground with your hands on your head!” 

Knowing he was caught, he reluctantly obeyed the orders, kneeling on the rough concrete, placing his bloody hands on the top of his head. 

They rushed him, roughly bringing his hands behind his back and locking the handcuffs on his wrists with a click. Dogs barked in the foreground as he was roughly jerked to his feet and pulled along, weaving their way through the alleys to the Main Street, where about twenty patrol cars and even a SWAT truck were haphazardly parked along the curb. As he was pulled along, he looked to the side to find crime scene tape around the general area of the body. Crime scene technicians were taking pictures of the site while a detective knelt next to the body, and another group of officers were trying to hold back the slew of civilians trying to get a better look at the scene. Blue and red lights flashed on the brick walls of the buildings, giving objects an almost sinister looking appearance. 

A young cop with a notepad approached the car he was sitting in, pulling the door open. Looking him up and down, he said, “you are under arrest for the murder of the Senator of Kansas. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?” 

“Yes,” he replied glumly. 

“With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?” 

“I didn’t kill him.” 

The officer looked at him sideways. “Good luck telling that to the judge…” he looked down at his notes for his name, “…Barry Allen.” Looking back up, he said, “they say that you are the Flash. Is that true?” 

Barry stared at him. “Those guys don’t care if I’m just an average Joe or fucking Superman. I’m still sitting in here.” 

The young cop nodded solemnly. “Neither does the Courts,” he said, before closing the door on Barry.


	2. A Revelation

Gar Logan awoke to the light streaming in from the window in the bedroom, filtering through the tightly drawn curtains. Turning his head to the side, he saw the alarm clock and its digital interface reading 9:15 in the morning. Laying back against the pillows, he buried his face in her hair, breathing in her unique scent. She was still sleeping, and when he looked down at her he could see her peaceful face, her obsidian-colored hair splayed out across the white pillows as if it were a painting on a canvas. Gar ran his fingers gently across her collarbone, feeling the soft skin underneath his fingertips. 

“Mmmm,” she hummed contentedly, snuggling up closer to him, burying her face in his chest. “Morning, Garfield.” 

He pulled her even closer until she hovered over him, and sat up slightly to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, right on her gem. “Hey, sleeping beauty,” Gar murmured. “Did you sleep well?” 

“No nightmares,” she confirmed. “I don’t know how, but your prescence always keeps them away.” 

He chuckled softly. “It’s my job. Both as a Titan and a boyfriend. To keep you safe from the monsters.” Brushing a strand of hair out of her face, he captured her lips in his, her hands resting in the middle of his chest, over his pounding heart. The taste of her lips was on his tongue and she started to run her fingers through his hair as Gar continued to kiss her. 

Warmth spread throughout his body, emotions that were not his starting to flood through his mind. Gar sensed apprehension, shy nervousness, and the underlying sweet taste of Raven’s affection, her love for the shapeshifter. He sent a wave of calm her way, and her body responded almost immediately to the positive emotion, tense muscles relaxing as he gathered his arms around her small body, pressing her chest flush against his own. 

She started to pull away from him slowly, her cheeks flushed and eyes shining. Her slim fingers traced the outline of his jaw as her lips turned upwards into a smile. 

“Hungry?” Gar asked. “If you want, I’ll make you something. You don’t have to eat whatever future food Bart cooks today.” 

She sat up so that Gar had room to move and shook her head softly. “No need. I might just have a cup of tea this morning.” 

“Well, I’m probably going to have to make my own food. I don’t know if it’s because Bart’s a bad cook or if it’s supposed to taste like dog food, but if he’s cooking again today, then I’m making my own.” 

The corner of her lips turned upwards in amusement, and Gar’s heart did a flip in his chest at the sight. He moved across the room and took off the t-shirt and gym shorts he had been wearing before suiting up in his purple and white uniform and putting on the steel-toed combat boots that went with it. 

“Why suit up now?” She asked from her position on the bed. 

“Armor or no, S.T.A.R. Labs did a pretty good job making it comfortable to wear around the Tower,” he replied. “I don’t know what exact materials they used for it, I just know that it’s comfortable and practical.” 

Gar opened the door, peeking his head out, before stepping out into the hall, Raven heading out before him in simple casual clothing. The door slid shut when they moved away from it as they both headed for the kitchen, hand in hand. 

Bart Allen was already up and running around the kitchen in a yellow blur, humming a tune to himself while tending to about a half dozen pans on the stove. He stopped for a second to look up at the newcomers and waved. 

“Heyguyswhat’supI’mmakingpancakesdoyawantsometheydon’tactallytastethatbad,” he babbled. It took a solid five seconds for Gar to register what exactly he said, before he looked over at Rose Wilson, who was sitting on the barstool with a bottle of beer in her hand. 

“Is he telling the truth?” Gar asked, pointing a thumb in the speedster’s direction. 

She looked up, her steel blue eye meeting his. “I don’t trust his judgement. Last time I did, I got food poisoning. Not taking that chance again,” she responded. 

“Aw, come on, Rose. Have some faith in me. I’m not that bad of a cook.” 

Rose just rolled her eye. “Whatever you say, Bart. I’m not going to argue with you about the quality of your food.” 

Gar heard the sound of a door opening and looked up to see who was coming in. Tim Drake walked in with a bathrobe and a newspaper bundle, looking like an old man as he got his coffee ready. One by one, the rest of the Titans filed into the kitchen for the standard breakfast-with-the-team tradition. 

Bart brought about a dozen plates of pancakes to the table and set to work on them, while Conner watched from across the table with unease. 

“You, uh, you might want to take it easy on the syrup,” Cassie pointed out. 

“Nonsense. You can never have too much maple syrup,” Bart replied, pouring nearly half of the bottle onto his plate, while Tim turned the news on. 

Almost immediately, a BREAKING NEWS report blared to life on the TV, replaced with the headline “FLASH ARRESTED FOR MURDER, GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO PUBLIC OUTRAGE” 

Almost everyone stopped eating and focused on the TV. The cameraman showed a scene from the arrest as the reporters talked about what happened. The shot then cut to the President’s Oval Office as he began to speak. 

“These people call themselves heroes,” he was saying, “yet they are just as dangerous as the so-called villains. The public is calling for action, and I agree that something must be done to stop these costumed “heroes” from running amok and without government authorization. Until something is agreed upon, I am ordering that all people with these “superpowers” stay inside their homes, caves, towers, wherever. If you step foot upon the street, police and military forces have authorization to arrest you, and they will not hesitate to do so.” 

“The Flash that was arrested last night has been charged with second-degree murder, assassination, and may face an additional charge of capital — ” the reporter started to say, before Bart shouted, “turn it off!” 

The screen turned black as the power shut off, leaving the room in silence. Gar looked around the table at the rest of the team, all of whom had mixed reactions. Tim looked across the table at Bart, who looked two seconds away from punching the wall. Raven’s hand grasped Gar’s underneath the table and he squeezed it in reassurance. 

“No one is to step foot off the island,” Tim said, his voice grave. “No exceptions. The tower is on lockdown as of right now. No one comes in, no one comes out until I can get into contact with the Justice League about our first step. You’re all dismissed.” 

Rose was the first to leave, grabbing her beer bottle by the neck and said, “we better not run out of beer, or I’m going out to get more, screw the government.” Taking a swig, she casually walked out of the room as if nothing on the news mattered to her. The rest of the team dispersed off in different directions, while Bart continued to aggressively eat the pancakes he made. 

Tim sat there watching him, looking concerned, and said, “Gar, Raven, you two can leave. I’ll, uh, try to conduct damage control with him.” 

Gar took Raven’s hand and gently pulled her out of the room, away from the negative emotions that were no doubt plaguing her mind. 

Once a safe distance away, he stopped and looked at her. “Are you all right?” Gar asked. “What are you sensing?” 

She closed her eyes and nodded. “Bart has faith that whatever happened in Central City, Barry cannot be blamed for the senator’s death. The general public, however, feels the exact opposite. They do not hesitate to condemn the man who once may have saved a relative or friend. Perhaps some of them have doubt that Barry did anything wrong, but they feel that if they spoke out, no one would pay any heed to them.” She looked up at her boyfriend and whispered, “so much hate. So much contempt. And for a man they don’t even know.” 

“Hey, hey, calm down. I won’t let that hurt you. Focus on me. Good feelings. Positivity. Just as you said. Focus on me,” he said placing his hands on her shoulders and thinking of good thoughts. Once he thought she had calmed down enough, he dipped his head and kissed her. Raven brought her hands up to the sides of his face and returned the action. 

He pulled away prematurely, searching the empath’s eyes to see if he could find a hint of something she wasn’t telling him, and find nothing, to his relief. 

“I don’t know what we can do, now that Batboy has placed us under house arrest. We could use the holorings and sneak out,” he suggested. “After all, there’s only so much you can do here. Or we can go swimming in the bay. We're not technically leaving the island,” he suggested, cracking a smile at her. 

A few seconds passed by, before she slowly nodded her head and said, “I think that would be nice.”


	3. A Danger

“Welcome back to NBC News at four, where we have an update on the metahuman situation here in the White House courtesy of the President. The debate on whether or not metahumans should be able to run free among people has been going on for five days now, after the brutal murder of the Kansas Senator last Tuesday night. We’ve been told that the president has been meeting with other representatives of the United Nations, debating on how to handle the problem. Right now, we’ve got exclusive footage of the announcement on live TV.” 

“I am happy to announce that the United Nations have decided on a solution to the situation,” the president said on the screen. “After much deliberation, we have decided that all metahumans, whether hero, villain, or otherwise, must turn themselves in to the federal government within 72 hours, upon which you will be checked in to a specially built facility to be held until further deliberation. If you have it turned yourself in within the allotted three days, then the government has full jurisdiction to turn you in using any means necessary. The D.E.O, among other organizations, have — ” 

The image of the president in the Oval Office started to glitch out, static covering the screen, until the footage shorted out completely, whereupon it was replaced with a different figure, one who was shrouded in shadows, with only the outline of a well-known armored cowl, one with white slits for the eyes glowing in the darkness. 

“You may already know who I am,” the person said, their gravelly voice resonating within the empty room. “But in case you don’t, I am Batman. I am Gotham’s protector. I am part of the Justice League. And I speak for the entire metahuman community when I say that we will not bow down to a single man who sits in an office chair and signs papers all day. We do not think that we are stronger, better, or smarter than you. We do not want a war. We are here to simply fight against the threats that no military unit can fight and win against. We do not want a war between metahumans and humans. But if you insist on attempting to controlling us, then it is a war that you will receive.” 

The man pressed the pause button on the computer, not turning his gaze away from the device. 

“This was just yesterday,” he said out loud. “The Dark Knight hacked into the NBC broadcast to interrupt the President’s message. He must have known that most of the metas wouldn’t give themselves up. A few have, but not ones of any significance. And you know why I called you here.” 

Silence reigned for a few moments, before the other occupant in the room spoke up. “And you think that I might take you up on that offer? I am a mercenary, General. I am not a hound dog. I work for no one.” 

“It was either you or Deadshot.” 

“Floyd may be an excellent shot, but he does not have the resources to take the Trinity down. Have you considered maybe this isn’t a war that you should try to fight?” 

“I know very well their abilities are more than we can handle. I also know that you have a son, who has powers of his own,” the general replied. “I’ll cut you a deal, Mr. Wilson, since I know you care so much for your children. His immunity from persecution in exchange for your help. Otherwise, you can bet your armored ass that we’ll be coming for you. But if you agree to work with me here, I’ll put in a personal request saying that Joseph will be left alone by the US military. I can’t guarantee protection from other bounty hunters, but I trust that you can deal with them easily.” 

The General of the Army stood up, the two soldiers at either side of the door standing to attention and saluting. “So what do you say, Deathstroke? Your help for Joseph’s immunity?” 

OoOoOoO 

“Tim, we can’t stay here. There are already government officials in Russia rounding up their vigilantes.” 

He rubbed a gloved hand over his masked face. “I know we can’t. But there’s nowhere else for us to go. Unless we go to turn ourselves in, literally no one is allowed to leave the tower. We have the entire SFPD watching us like a hawk, we can’t leave this island.” 

“I don’t care,” Rose said, flipping a throwing knife in the air and catching it. “I’m not turning myself in, and I’m not going to do so on my own will without a fight. The government can kiss my ass, there’s a reason why they’re not in charge of us. Batman says he doesn’t want a war, but we all know that at the first sign of hostility, he’ll turn against the military in a heartbeat.” 

“Rose, you don’t understand — ” 

“No, Tim, you don’t understand. When the government gets involved with anything regarding us, it’s a sign that they don’t trust us. Now they’re not just involved, but they want to shut it down. They want to control us, control our abilities so they can use them to their own advantage. You have it easier — you all do. Conner’s own DNA donor is the world’s greatest hero, Cassie’s father is Zeus, Bart has an entire legacy behind his back, and Tim, you have the entire Batfamily bullshit. Even when you factor in all the hardships, none of you combined will ever come close to understanding what I mean when I say I won’t be controlled again. Raven and Gar are the only ones that understand what the hell that’s like. None of you ever will. So you can give up and turn yourselves in, but know that I won’t submit to people who think they can control me, because I won’t give them the opportunity to.” 

Garfield glanced at Tim, who was looking irritated. He grabbed Raven’s hand discreetly, clearing his throat to get his attention. “Rose is right, Tim. I doubt that you would ever turn yourself in, but maybe unlike you, she’ll do whatever it takes to keep herself out of a situation where she’s at the mercy of anyone else. Maybe she’d even off herself just to ensure that they truly won’t get the satisfaction of capturing Deathstroke’s daughter.” 

“But Barry wouldn’t kill anyone. The public has to know that, someone must have framed him. He wouldn’t kill to save his own life,” Bart protested. “There’s gotta be someone who doesn’t believe he’d actually kill the senator.” 

“Yes, I know that Bart, but the public doesn’t know anything about what Barry is like. Besides, they won’t believe us anyway.” Tim started to leave when he stopped near the doorway and said, “gear up and stay vigilant, Titans. In less than twenty hours, we’ll be fighting the US military.” 

Then, with a swish of his midnight-black cape, Tim left the room. OoOoOoO 

Gar couldn’t sleep, even though Raven lay next to him, even though he stared at the ceiling and silently counted sheep. While nearly everyone on the team has had a bout of insomnia at one point or another, insomnia was not what kept him awake. Perhaps it had something to do with the animals inside him. Normally, they quieted down when Raven was near, but despite her sleeping peacefully in his arms, they were still restless. 

He decided to let off some steam in the training room. For whatever reason, another way to make the animals shut up was satisfying the inner desire to hunt via physical exercise. Gently and slowly, so as to not wake Raven up, he slid out of the bed, slipping on his combat boots and the top half of his uniform, before he opened the metal door and quietly shut it behind him, heading for the training room. 

Gar heard her before he saw her, the sound of heavy breathing and something hitting the wooden training dummies unmistakeable. She was in her full battle gear when he entered the room, expertly wielding her swords in hand as she gave the dummies a beating, the silver blades a blur every time they struck the wooden dummy, taking small bits and pieces from it. 

“Oh, hey, hope I wasn’t interrupting anything important,” he drawled. Rose didn’t stop hitting the practice dummies, but she did stick one sword into the wooden body and flip him off from behind her, before yanking the sword out. 

“Still kind of pissed that there’s nothing but training dummies here,” she replied. “There’s only so much fun you can have with wooden logs. Gonna have to pester Tim again about getting one of those simulators Bart uses.” 

Stepping around her swinging blades, Gar observed the small pile of sawdust at her feet and said, “looks like you’re having fun without that anyway.” 

“Oh, go fuck yourself,” she said, but Gar could see a hint of a smile on her face. 

After a few more whacks, Rose slid her swords back into the sheaths strapped to her back and moved to a punching bag. He took the one next to her, assumed a fighting stance and attacked the bag. 

“Couldn’t sleep either?” He asked, falling into a combat stance that Nightwing had taught him years ago. 

“Nope. Too much energy, can’t stay still knowing that we’re going to be targeted in a few hours by the US government ’cause we refused to turn ourselves in. I’m betting that they’ll attack us first, since our base is so obvious.” 

“Yeah, now the giant T-shaped tower in the harbor suddenly doesn’t sound like a good idea anymore,” he added sarcastically. 

She scoffed, before falling back into silence, the sound of fists hitting the bags suspended from the ceiling cutting through the silence. After a while, she said, “thanks for standing up for me earlier.” 

Gar shrugged. “It wasn’t really standing up for you. You’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, you don’t need my help.” 

“As your sister, I can say that we both know that’s a load of bullshit. You’d stand up for absolutely anybody.” 

Gar stopped, standing back from the bag to look at her, though Rose didn’t do the same. “I’m not out to replace Joey, Rose.” 

“No, and I’m not saying you were. I’m saying that you’ve been the closest thing I’ve had to a brother after Joey left with Slade and never answered my emails.” 

He nodded to himself and continued hammering on the punching bag. “I can’t say that Joey will come back, but if he is with Slade, then he’s in one of the safest places in the world. Regardless of how many enemies he has.” 

“Yeah, but I can’t help feeling worried for him,” Rose huffed. “He lost his eyes and his voice, then got them back. He’s got those voices in his head; he’s lost his own damn mind in the past because they made him so easy to manipulate. I don’t much care for Slade. It’s Joey that I’m worried about.” 

“Don’t worry about it, Rose. Joey can take care of himself…and if he really is still with Slade, then he’s as far away from society as he can be. He’ll be safer than most of us.” 

Rose stepped back and nodded, holding the punching bag at arm’s length. “I hope you’re right, Gar. I hope he’s alright, wherever he is.”


	4. A Fall

Slade did not want to be here. 

At all. 

He sighed, looking up at the iconic building. He did not want to be the one to do this. The mercenary made a mental note to personally visit the so-called General of the Armies to talk to him about his choice in targets to attack. 

Slade, of course, had a plan. Always had one when it ever came to taking a contract that required him to face different metahuman enemies. He didn’t exactly like having one to take the Teen Titans out, since he made a promise to himself that he’d never interfere with their activities (as much as he was pitted against them, they earned his respect for being such determined fighters). Especially since Rose was with them now. 

He had tried to edge his way out of having to go against the group, but the general had simply said, “Joseph, Mr. Wilson. Don’t you forget it,” and hung up. 

Slade was sure he had never wanted to throttle someone’s throat as much as he wanted to with the general. 

Deathstroke swung his weapon around his shoulder and placed his hand underneath the barrel to keep it steady before aiming at the conspicuous building, and said, “forgive me, Joey.” 

OoOoOoO 

The animals within him had always been in tune with their surroundings. Though it had been overwhelming a long time ago, with every smell amplified, every sound an avalanche to his ears, and every sight’s texture, edges, and colors sharp to him, Gar had learned to filter through the constant information about his surroundings and retain the most important information. After lots of practice and training, he could pick apart a person’s scent from a room full of strangers, hear the changes in a person’s breathing patterns and heart rate, and see details even trained detectives couldn’t find. 

However, those abilities are like a double-edged sword at times. 

He smelled it before the Tower’s computer sensed it. Sitting up in bed, he sniffed the air, the pungent odor of smoke filling his nose. The sirens started to scream into the once-peaceful night, telling him what he already knew. 

The tower was on fire. 

Without a single beat of hesitation, he picked Raven up from the bed, not stopping to take anything with him. She was wide awake by the time he reached the door, her arms wrapped around his neck for support. 

The door slid open and he was greeted by the sight of fire blocking the left side of the hallway. He turned to the right, hoping that everyone else could get out of their room. 

Turning a corner, he came across Conner, who nearly smacked into him. He stopped short, looked at Raven in his arms, and said, “I’ll take her, Gar. You get anything you need from your room.” 

He couldn’t stop the protective reaction in time, and he ended up baring his teeth and snarling at him. He immediately backed away, but Raven touched his jaw affectionately, stopping Gar from almost attacking Conner. 

“It’s alright, Garfield. I’ll be fine,” she reassured him. Reluctantly, he put her down, and turned to look at Conner. 

“Go check in everyone else, make sure they get out alive,” Gar told him, before he morphed into a falcon and flew away. 

Happening upon the room both Gar and Raven shared, he put on his combat boots and slid on his uniform shirt, taking the two hologram rings out of the nightstand’s drawer and slipping them in his back pocket, taking the necklace he gave Raven on their six-month anniversary, before he paused, staring at the last item in the drawer. 

The box sat there, almost begging Gar to take it with him. He quickly opened it, taking the item within and stuffed it in the same pocket as the holorings. Then he shut the drawer and headed back out into the hallway to find Rose. 

He found her in her bedroom, looking like she was gearing up for a war, strapping on multiple different bladed weapons to her armor. She didn’t even look up when Gar entered the room, but rather said, “they’re eight hours early, the bastards. Three days, my ass. So much for courtesy.” 

“Hey, we gotta go, like now,” Gar said. “Who knows when they’ll bring in the — ” 

A loud, low-pitched boom interrupted him, almost sounding like a thousand shotguns going off at once. He covered his ears instinctively, looking around for the source of the boom. 

“Explosives. Shit, they’re onto us,” Rose swore, standing up and sliding her swords into the scabbards on her back. “Any second now, the tower is going to start to fall…” 

Almost as if on cue, a loud screeching noise cut through the sound of cracking fire as the tower started to tip to one side. He grabbed Rose by the wrist and pulled her out of the room, before turning into a rhinoceros and running straight at the huge glass window, shattering it on impact. Shifting into a pteranodon, he waited for Rose to jump out the same window before he angled his wings to catch her fall. 

A larger explosion made him tumble to the ground, rolling to a stop near a large boulder. Looking up, Gar saw the mangled structure of the tower, a huge hole blown in the middle of it, smoke and fire rising in the sky. The forest around the tower’s base also had caught on fire, kick-starting a slow blaze that travelled around the base of the tower outward. Some upper floors of the tower caved in, collapsing on the floors below it, fire and sparks flying everywhere. The collapse caused a chain reaction that made what was left of the tower cave in on itself. 

And just as sudden as the attack commenced, the place Gar had called home for years was reduced to a large, smoldering pile of rubble. 

“Damn it,” Rose swore. “What if someone was in there when it fell?” 

“Raven?” Gar asked fearfully. “No, where is Raven?” 

He transformed into a cheetah and ran toward the fallen tower. Behind him, Rose called his name, but he didn’t stop, even when she said the military could arrive at any time. 

He wouldn’t stop if was is involved. He wouldn’t lose another loved one. 

“Raven!” Gar shouted, not caring if anyone heard him. He didn’t stop running or calling her name. 

Something caught his attention from the corner of his eye and he stopped. afraid of what he might find. He shifted back into human form, stumbling towards the object, a body coming into his view as he came closer. 

“Raven?” Gar choked, fear creeping through his voice. He knelt down and took her body into his arms, relieved when he checked for and received a pulse. She’s just knocked out, he tell himself. Gar stood back up with her in his arms and head back to where he had left Rose. 

“I found her,” he said when he saw Rose kneeling down behind a large boulder. “She’s out, but she’s alive.” 

“Anyone else?” Rose asked. 

He shook his head. “Couldn’t any. No sign of them anywhere. It’s like they just disappeared.” 

She peeked out over the top of the rock. “Well, we’re going to have to leave, much as I don’t want to. I saw a few helicopters in the distance, and I’m 99% sure I just saw Deathstroke. He walked out of the ruins like he was looking for something.” 

“Yeah, we probably have to go,” he said. Gar brushed Raven’s hair out from her eyes and asked, “where do we go?” There’s just us three, and Raven is unconscious. We will have to go on foot.” 

“I want to find Joey and get him out of wherever he is. Slade wouldn’t attack the Titans at a time like this. Killer or no, he still goes by a strict code. He must have been forced into doing this, and the one way to make him do something against his will is mess with his family. They could be holding Joey as a ransom of some sort,” Rose explained. “I know where his safe house is. It’s somewhere in Washington state. But we can try to get to the San Francisco S.T.A.R Labs division. Tim’s got an acquaintance there that might be able to help. We can take cover somewhere else, wait for Raven to recover, and maybe she can port us to the labs with no problem.” 

He nodded gently. “There’s a S.T.A.R. Labs not too far from here. We can go there and maybe someone will take us in, somewhere we can stay until Raven is strong enough to teleport us to the safe house.” 

Rose nodded. “I don’t know how we’re going to be able to get there without being reported, but we’ll figure something out.” 

“I have two holorings,” Gar said. “They’re Raven’s and mine. Do you have yours?” 

Rose shook her head. “Even if I did, how would we explain Raven? Who knows how long she’ll be out for. It’s still dark out, so we might be able to get to the labs unnoticed if we stick to the shadows.” 

“I can fly us over the bay. Chances are they already know Slade missed us and will be looking for us anyway. I’d rather be killed trying to escape rather than just letting them throw me into where they’re keeping everyone else.” 

Rose grimaced. “I know that, Gar. But we’re going to have to be quick about it, or the helicopters will shoot us down from the sky. I do hope you know what you’re doing, placing your trust in a bunch of strangers who might jump at the chance to turn us in.” 

Gar handed Raven over to Rose. “S.T.A.R. is our only hope if we’re going to escape Slade.” He shifted into a pteranodon and Rose mounted his back, carrying Raven. 

“Ready?” He asked. 

“Go, hurry up,” she replied. “I can see the choppers now.” Beating his wings, he took off, flying low to the water to lower their chances of being spotted. 

“Go to Fort Mason,” Rose said. “We can get to the labs from there.” 

He grunted in affirmation, banking to the left to adjust his course, beating his wings harder to speed up, and saw the cliff faces of San Francisco slowly coming closer. Once Gar reached the cliffs of Fort Mason, he let Rose jump off his back with Raven in tow before he transformed back into himself, taking Raven from her. 

“The San Francisco S.T.A.R. Labs location is about a mile and a half from here,” Gar said. “We have to move fast to get there unnoticed. We don’t want to attract unwanted attention to the labs, there might be some people working the graveyard shift.” 

“The city isn’t really known for back alleys that we could take for cover,” Rose said, following him as he scampered up the cliff face in the form of a squirrel. “Any ideas?” 

“We’ll have to stick to the shadows as long as we can, and move fast across the streets. I’m more worried about anyone who might be on the street rather than security cams.” 

Not many people were out on the road at the time, so they had a relatively easy time traveling to S.T.A.R. Gar had the 18-story building in sight within fifteen minutes, but when the entrance was in sight, he saw that there were about four military personnel in the front. He turned to Rose and whispered, “do you know if there’s a back way in?” 

She shook her head. “I’m pretty sure Tim said that there’s a back door, but it’s an emergency exit. It only opens from the inside.” 

He groaned. “Nowhere else?” 

“Not that I’m aware of, no.” 

He adjusted Raven’s weight in his arms. “We might have no other choice but to try the back door. If those officers see us — ” 

“They’ll call for more,” Rose finished. “Right. Back door it is.” 

Once they were in front of the back door, Gar pressed his ear to the cold metal and tried to hear if anyone was inside. He knocked on the door, but immediately regretted doing so. The sound of his knuckles hitting the hollow metal was loud and resonated within the area. 

“Well shit,” Rose said. “Now we’re screwed.” 

Gar heard boots against the pavement and turned to see a beam of light on the ground coming from high beam flashlights as the soldiers approached. All four of them had their weapons out and point their guns at them when they caught sight of the fugitives standing in front of the door. 

“Stop!” One of them shouted. “On the ground, now!” 

Gar looked at Rose, who had one of her swords out, standing in a defensive position, and Gar tried to use as much of his body as possible to cover Raven, who was starting to stir from the shouting. 

“Get down on the fucking ground, now!” The lead soldier shouted, and pressed a button on the comm attached to his collar. “Squad Five to HQ, we have three wanted fugitives at the assigned point, requesting assistance immediately.” 

“Copy, sending a copter to your position now,” the speaker buzzed. 

“Drop the weapon!” Another yelled. “Put it on the ground!” 

Gar saw Rose’s eye meet his from the corner of his vision, and gavegive her a slight nod. But before anyone could do anything further, Gar heard the door open from them me. The soldiers didn’t have time to react to the newcomer, and instead, there was a loud crack of thunder before small bolts of lightning made contact with their bodies, knocking them off their feet and knocking them out as well. 

Gar turned to face the new threat and was greeted to the sight of a young man in a S.T.A.R. Labs uniform. His hair was short with a dirty blonde color, and his eyes were mismatched in color, the right being bright blue and the other hazel. He looked young, barely in his twenties, and a quick glance at his name tag told Gar that his name was Cody. No last name noted, just Cody. 

He scanned them, the green-skinned animorph holding a barely-conscious empath in their arms, and the daughter of Deathstroke holding a broadsword in their hand. He didn’t look surprised by them showing up at the back door, however. 

“Titans?” He asked, looking at them. Gar nodded at him slowly, and Rose reluctantly started to put the sword back in the sheath strapped to her back. He stepped to the side, holding the door open. “Come in, before they wake up.” 

Rose looked at Gar for confirmation, and he nodded slightly in response. She took her hand away from the sword, letting it fall completely in the scabbard, and stepped in the building, Gar following her, before the young boy closed the door and pushed a large table in front of it, blocking the exit. 

Once he seemed confident about the state of the door, he turned to them. “Sorry about that. They’ve been hanging out at the front door for a little while now. I came as soon as I could when I saw the security camera footage.” 

Gar nodded. “Thanks,” I said. 

“You’re welcome. My name’s Cody. We need to get far below the surface before the military comes here. I know where we can hide; follow me,” he said, before he turned and walked down the hall.


	5. A Gift

“So, care to explain why S.T.A.R. has an underground bomb shelter under the building?” 

Gar looked up from tending to Raven’s minor injuries to see Rose reclining on a chair, unstrapping her armor and weapons, while Cody sat down at a table with a laptop in front of him. “Care to explain a lot of things, actually?” She reiterated. 

Gar laid Raven’s head in his lap as he sat on the sofa next to her, holding her hand in his own, and watched the interaction. 

“Not a bomb shelter. This was left over from the building that was here before Star. I think it was a hotel of some sort…Long story short, I live in some of the rooms down here, along with some other lab employees because we don’t have a home elsewhere. The first subfloor is only used for storage, and the two under that are living quarters, mainly for staff who can’t afford housing, or sometimes when a scientist wants to stay at the labs overnight because they’ve been working on something big. Administration completely demoed those floors, turned them into living spaces,” Cody explained. 

“You work here?” Raven rasped. When he nodded, Raven said, “forgive me if I’m being rude, but…you seem a bit young to be a scientist.” 

“I’m not. I’m just an engineer. I work in the weapons and technology wing. Stuff for the military, though I did help draw up the concept for your costume, Beast Boy.” 

“I might have you redesigning at some point in the future,” Gar said. “Been thinking of changing my codename.” 

“For now, you should get some rest,” Cody suggested. “There are more than enough rooms to suit all three of you, although — ” he looked directly at Gar and Raven sitting on the couch “ — I suppose you might only need two.” 

He didn’t reply, instead helping Raven to her feet and nodding at him. “Thanks,” he said. 

Cody waved it off. “You would have done the same. Good night, Titans.” 

“Feeling better?” Gar asked after they left the room. “You took it pretty hard today.” 

She grimaced. “I have been worse. Nothing I can’t handle.” 

Gar opened the door to one of the empty rooms and held it open for her, closing it gently behind him after he followed her in. 

“What do you think?” He asked. 

“It’s…small,” Raven answered. “It is a lot like a hotel room. Good thing there is a bathroom.” 

“I, uh, was talking about the kid,” Gar said, rubbing the back of his neck. “You were right, he looks a little young to be here. And he didn’t mention anything about what happened to the soldiers. That wasn’t any of us. And there was no way he could have known we were there. No cameras. He knew beforehand that we were going to be there.” 

“His intentions are good,” Raven said, walking around the small room. “He truly wants to help us. He has no intention to turn us in.” 

“I just don’t know if we can trust him. He’s hiding something.” 

“Don’t worry about it for now, beloved,” she replied, coming around to stand in front of Gar. “For now, rest. You look exhausted.” 

“You could tell?” He joked, heading towards the small bathroom connected to the suite. 

After he took a long, hot shower, Gar kept his shirt off as he climbed into bed and pulled Raven’s body close to him and felt her hand coming up to touch his chest. Her eyes, normally a bright purple, appeared dark in color from the lack of light in the room. His enhanced eyesight was the only reason Gar could see her, so Gar must have been barely visible to her. 

He leaned forward slightly and brushed his lips past hers. Raven’s head tilted upwards to let Gar kiss her. Her hand came up to the side of his face and she ran her fingers through his hair slowly. Raven’s lips started to wander and trailed soft kisses down his jaw to his neck, and Gar pulled away from her, feeling her soft breath on his neck. Her fingers traced the point of his ear, and his throat started to vibrate as he purred under his touch. A comfortable silence fell, and Gar was content to stay there, holding the woman he loved in his arms, chasing away their fears and worries. 

“Can you stay?” She asked, curling her fingers in his hair. 

“Of course,” Gar replied. He pressed a small kiss on her chakra, pulled her close and buried his nose in her hair. Her breathing pattern started to slow down until she fell asleep, and he followed her into slumber. 

OoOoOoO 

The next morning, after Gar told Cody where they were headed, he insisted on making them breakfast before he wanted to bring them to what the employees working in the military technology department called “the Forge” to help them stock up on things they might need to get to Washington undetected. Rose tried to ask him questions about his apparent ability to project electricity, but he avoided the topic every time she brought it up, and eventually Rose gave up. 

“How did you say you found us?” Gar asked, trying his hand at questioning the boy. “Cameras?” 

“Uh…yeah,” Cody replied, sounding apprehensive. 

“Really?” Gar asked, leaning forward. “Because there weren’t any cameras around. You would have had to known we were going to show up when we did.” 

Gar felt both Rose and Raven’s eyes on him, but didn’t look away from the young engineer. Cody met Gar’s gaze for about a second, before he looked down, fidgeting with his hands. 

“I suppose I should tell you my story…it’s only fair since you probably feel you can’t trust anyone who comes up to you and offers protection.” 

He sighed. “I was born nineteen years ago, in Baltimore. My mother was almost always in my life. I never knew who my father was. He never visited, and whenever I asked mom about him, she’d get this really sad look in her eyes before she talked about something else. She never answered the question, and I never pressed any farther than that. She was pretty much my only friend in the world. 

“Mom was a psychic. She never outright said that she could see the future, but whenever she said something would happen, it always did. One event she predicted came out more like a prophecy than an actual prediction, but I’ll get to that later. 

Cody looked at the wall, a faraway look in his eyes. “I was twelve years old and had just come home from school when I got the call. Two policemen showed up at the house and asked if hey could come in. I told them I wasn’t supposed to let anyone in the house without my mother’s permission, and one of the officers said, ‘I’m terribly sorry to bring you this news, but…Cody, your mother had a very bad accident. The doctors don’t think she’ll live for much longer.’ When they brought me to the hospital, I was told that on her way home from work, my mother’s car was t-boned hard by an oncoming truck. The car spun out of control and ended up crashing into a utility pole, which sent dozens of amps into the car and her body. She died in the hospital three hours later. 

“My aunt, who lived here in San Francisco, became my guardian. She worked here at S.T.A.R. Labs as a med tech, and was the one who got me into engineering in the first place. She passed away about a year ago from lung cancer; she had a bad smoking habit. It was also at around this time I discovered that I could manipulate and control lightning in the form of electricity. Every night I’d go to the cliffs and practice shooting bottles of glass that I took from the lab’s recycling bin. I told no one about it, because if what my mother had said was true, then I’d need to keep it a secret until a time of desperate need. She said that I would meet a beast, a hunter, and a martyr, and that they’d need my help, but that I could only help them by keeping a secret. If I’m correct, then Gar is the beast, Rose is the hunter, and Raven is the martyr. My secret was my abilities. If I had broadcasted to the world that I could control electricity, then I wouldn’t have been able to help you, because I would be hunted by the federal government to turn myself in as a metahuman. 

“So I kept quiet about my powers. Once the president announced the quarantine on metas, I kept an eye out for anyone coming to the labs in case the three my mother talked about came here. When I figured out you were coming, I knew that you were the ones I had to wait for.” 

The young boy leaned back in his chair. “So that’s my story. I know the basics of yours, but we don’t have enough time to exchange life lessons right now. When you’ve finished eating, let me know and we’ll head up to the Forge. I have some things that might help you on your mission. Whatever it is…” 

Gar took a peek over at Raven, who had a look in her eye that essentially said, “see? He means no harm,” and let his hand brush hers underneath the table. He saw Rose rolling her eye from the corner of his vision, and she grumbled something about him being a lovebird. 

When all of them finished eating, Cody was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement about showing the heroes the latest technology S.T.A.R had developed. He led them up to the main floor, where he confirmed that there was a group of military personnel waiting outside for them to come out. He ushered them into the service elevator, where it stopped at the fifteenth floor and he led them further down the hallways until they came to a pair of metal doors with a keypad attached to the wall. Cody punched in a long sequence of numbers, and the locks started to click and whir, unlocking the door. 

Cody held the door open for them and Gar couldn’t help but stare in astonishment at the various weapons and equipment displayed on the walls. The weapons were, of course, enclosed in a glass case, but it looked as if the engineers and scientists working in the Forge were working on developing energy weapons. 

Rose was , of course, drawn to the bladed weapons, and after they walked by case by case of weapons, Cody cleared his throat and said, “I’ve helped to develop some tech that Red Robin was supposed to pick up next week, since he said he wanted to surprise the team for Christmas.” He beckoned for them to follow him to the back of the room, where there are two large, unmarked metal crates. 

He opened one and pulled out two metal objects that looked like the hilt of Rose’s swords, and said, “Red Robin told me that you used to have a pair of nonlethal energy swords that would form a force field when put together. We managed to recreate them to the best of our ability, but I don’t suppose we have as much access to military technology as the original developers… 

“There is a switch on the side of the sword hilts that switches from a lethal to a nonlethal stun mode. Both can cut through about four inches of reinforced steel, but the lethal setting outputs enough energy to entirely severe limbs. The swords activate when there is pressure placed around the handle.” 

Rose nodded curtly at him, and clipped them onto her belt. 

Cody turned back to the crate and recovered a small metal ring. “This one is made for you, Gar. It’s state of the art cloaking technology that senses when you transform and what animal you changed into, and projects an accurate holographic image around you that mimics the appearance of that animal in the wild. So instead of turning into a green grizzly bear, your fur will appear brown in color. The only thing that will stay the same about your appearance is eye color.” 

Gar took the ring, turning it over in his hand. It was simple, nothing fancy, and appeared to be a normal sterling silver ring. 

“The ring changes shape according to what you change in, so that it won’t break when you shift,” Cody added. He stood up, closed the crate, and continued, “your gift, Raven, is in the back room here.” 

He opened said back door. “I know that you take a defensive role in battle…you’re a healer, not a fighter, but when push comes to shove, you will fight. The new uniform that we’ve developed hopefully reflects that.” 

Cody pulled out a very similar uniform to the one she usually wore, but with slightly more armor. He held up the cloak and said, “the cloak and dress are lined with multiple sheets of depleted promethium, which is indestructible and highly durable. It’s not perfect, and won’t guarantee your complete safety, but it’s fireproof, stab-resistant, and absorbs the kinetic energy of bullets. The boots are also lightweight depleted promethium. Typically, we develop outfits that combine defensive and offensive skills, but yours is primarily suited for defense. Promethium can take a lot of punishment before it gives in.” 

“Thank you, Cody,” Raven said, taking the uniform from him. Gar took the armored boots, and tucked them underneath his arm. 

Cody nodded. “You’re welcome,” he replied. He led the remaining Titans out of the room, made sure to lock the door behind him, and asked, “so, where are you guys going?” 

“Heading up to Washington,” Gar replied. “We’re gonna try to find Rose’s brother Jericho.” 

“Do you mind if, uh, I come along?” 

“I would rather you not,” Gar said. “You’re traveling with three fugitives being hunted by the government. It’s too dangerous, and I don’t want you to get injured.” 

Rose put a hand on his shoulder, and said, “let him come. We’ll need all the help that we can get, and he’s already proven to be a valuable ally since no one knows about him. Once everything is sorted out and back to normal, we can see what to do with him.” 

Gar sighed. “Alright then. You can come along, Cody. But first gather anything you might need. Grab a bulletproof vest if you need to. We leave as soon as everyone is ready to go. ” 

Cody nodded eagerly. “I can help you get to where you need to go. My Lambo is in the garage.” 

When Gar shot a look at Rose, she shrugged nonchalantly and said, “guess we’ll be driving in style.”


	6. A Death

“You, Deathstroke the Terminator, most feared assassin in the world, let three fugitives escape the island?” 

Slade stood in the middle of the room, deathly still, as his unwanted employer walked around him like a shark circled its prey. Deathstroke watched as the general came to a stop in front of him. 

“Are you losing your skills? Growing old? You couldn’t capture a bunch of sidekicks? You trained the assassin girl personally. It wasn’t like you couldn’t be bothered to capture them all.” 

“With all due respect, general,” Slade started, saying the title like it was poison, “the other three are not to be taken lightly. Especially not the witch.” 

The general slammed his hands down on the wooden desk suddenly, making the soldiers standing guard at the door jump. Slade didn’t even flinch, his one visible eye meeting the elder soldier’s glare head-on. 

“My men camped outside San Francisco S.T.A.R. Labs radioed for backup at 11:27 last night, twenty minutes after Titans Tower fell. They said they found the three escapees trying to get into the building. A troop transport copter was sent there and found all four soldiers dead. The medical examiner found that they had been electrocuted by a fourth person, causing them to go into cardiac arrest. We must bring the fugitives into custody before any more collateral damage is caused. 

“You failed, Mr. Wilson. And a failure cannot go unforgiven. There must be repercussions.” The general of the army examined his nails as if bored, as the guards marched up to Slade, standing next to him. 

“While Task Force X goes to finish off what you started, I have already sent a squad to take out your son. They should arrive within the hour.” 

“You little bastard!” Slade shouted, lunging toward the general. The guards immediately restrained the mercenary, holding him back before he could reach his target. The sound of heavy boots filled the hallway as more units arrived. The guard to his right yanked off his helmet, tossing it to the side where another soldier caught it and placed it on the desk. 

“Hmmm. Such a shame that I will have to find someone else to arrest the numerous other metas still running around like they own the planet. What a waste of opportunity.” The general took a pistol that one of the soldiers offered to him, cocking the gun and pointing it at Slade’s head. “But, of course, a deal is a deal, Mr. Wilson. And if you can’t do your job correctly, how am I supposed to expect you to bring in the Justice League?” 

He pulled the trigger. 

OoOoOoO 

“ETA six hours,” Cody said, putting the destination into the GPS and backed out of the parking space. “Dressing you all up as scientists to leave unnoticed was fun. How did you even know it was Jedidiah Smith Park?” 

“When I saw Slade in the smoke, I got a vision of the park. Like a map with a red pin tacked onto the area. I don’t know where the house was built, I just know that it’s somewhere in there. Maybe my ESP is evolving into more abilities,” Rose explained. 

“What if Slade is there?” Gar asked. 

“With Joey there, I don’t think he’ll try. Besides, he’s probably taking more contracts from the government,” she said, putting the sword hilts in the glove box. 

“Just try to keep a low profile,” Gar warned, slipping his hologram ring on. Within seconds, his skin turned to a lighter, more natural skin tone, his eyes appeared blue, and his hair changed to blonde. He checked in the rear view mirror and saw him, a splitting image of his father, staring back at him. 

“Whoa,” Cody exclaimed. “Guess those rings do work after all.” 

“Work like a charm, they do,” Gar replied. “Just in case we encounter a roadblock or something.” 

They lapsed into silence as Cody got on the highway. Rose kicked her feet up on the dashboard to take a nap, and Cody frowned but didn’t say anything. 

Raven moved closer to Gar and laid her head on his shoulder, his arm going around her waist to steady her, and she took his hand in hers. 

“We had your genetic profile on record in the archive and I snuck a look at it last night,” Cody said to Gar. “I’m no geneticist, but your genes are very unique. I’ve never seen anything like it before.” 

“What’d you find?” Gar asked. 

“Your cells divide absolutely perfectly,” he replied. “They age at more than half the time of normal human cells. Each cell undergoes perfect mitosis. There’s no errors in replication. The serum your parents gave you keeps on evolving new strands, giving your body more abilities. You heal injuries almost immediately. I don’t even think you will age normally. Your cells still have the same structure and perform the same way as a man in his early twenties. You might not die of old age or organ failure. If you do die, it will be due to sustaining critical bodily damage. It’s amazing, really. A genetic miracle.” 

“In the eyes of some scientists,” Gar replied. “Others just want to cut me up and see why my genes work that way.” 

“Well, sakutia in humans is different than sakutia in animals. The virus is transmitted the same way as rabies — when an infected animal bites another organism. All organisms who contract it die within forty-eight hours, including humans. The virus attacks the victim’s genetic makeup, slowly breaking the host’s DNA down. When you contracted the disease and your father gave you the cure, it essentially gave you the ability to manually break down your own DNA and rearrange it to mimic any animal you wanted at an amazingly fast rate.” 

“Does it hurt?” Raven asked, curling up to the shapeshifter. “When you shift?” 

“It does,” he answered, “but not any more than when curious scientists decided to cut me up when I got it.” 

“I’m sorry,” she said. 

“Don’t be.” He kissed the top of her forehead before placing his chin on her head. “It’s not your fault.” He squeezed her hand in reassurance, and continued, “anything else?” 

“Judging from security cameras around the city, it’s almost becoming clear that the line between animal and human is beginning to blur together. Your shifts are more primal in nature. You tend to favor animals that are predators more than prey. And more importantly, your animal seems to have taken a liking to Raven.” 

“I know,” he said quietly. 

“A liking how?” Raven asked after a brief period of silence. 

“I don’t know if Gar wants you to know…” 

“No, tell her,” Gar sighed. “She deserves to know.” 

“Okay then…judging from the research of the zoologists, it looks like Gar’s inner animal has decided to take you as their mate.” 

Raven inhaled sharply, her heartbeat picking up speed a little bit. Gar buried his face in her hair, a wave of shame coming over him. Cody gave him a worried look through the rearview mirror, before he looked straight ahead and turned on the music, focused on the road ahead, mouthing the words to some rock song on the radio and trying his damnedest to give the couple in the backseat some privacy. 

“Garfield?” 

“Raven, baby, I’m sorry, it isn’t something I can control,” he whispered. “I-it doesn’t have to mean anything if you don’t want it to, I know we haven’t even gotten to that stage in our relationship, I tried to resist it but — ” 

“Hush, Garfield,” Raven said, pressing a finger to his lips. “You’re rambling. You never ramble.” Her amethyst colored eyes, sparkling with amusement, searched his before she dropped her gaze. “And you don’t have to apologize for that. I forgive you.” 

“You’re…not upset that I marked you? Mentally, I mean, not physically, I wouldn’t hurt you for the world…” 

A smile graced her lips. “No. In fact, I am quite flattered, actually. That of all people to choose from, you chose me. I am aware of what it means when animals mark one another. But as long as you’ll have me…” 

Raven brushed her lips past Gar’s, trailing soft kisses down his neck and working her way to his ear; “I’ll always be right there with you.” 

He caught his lips in hers, and she immediately melted into his embrace, welcoming every one of his movements, even when he glided his tongue across her lips, silently asking her permission. She opened her mouth to him, and they stayed like that for a while before air became a necessity. 

“I love you,” Gar breathed, and Raven’s fingers curled around the back of his neck, stroking the strands of hair there. 

She fidgeted in his arms, not meeting his gaze, before she cleared her throat and said quietly, “I love you too, Garfield.” 

His heart swelled with pride at her admission, and he held her a bit closer. She placed her hands on both sides of his shoulders, tucked her face in his neck, and nuzzled there gently. He tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear gently before he slowly drifted off to sleep. 

OoOoOoO 

He didn’t know how long it had been since he fell asleep, but the car suddenly coming to a stop was what woke him up. Gar’s animal instincts came alive, one arm shooting out to brace himself on the back of the front seat and the other wrapping around Raven so she didn’t fall either. 

Wide awake, he peered over the shoulder of Cody and asked, “where’s the fire?” 

“In the middle of the road,” Rose answered, pointing at three figures standing in the middle of the road, blocking the car from going any further on the roadway. She opened the glove box, withdrawing the two sword hilts. 

“Oh,” Gar said quietly. 

“Deadshot, Electrocutioner, and El Diablo,” Cody said. “Half of the Suicide Squad.” He turned the ignition, shut the car off, and opened the driver’s side door, stepping out. The rest of the group did the same, and Gar slid off the holoring, placing it in his back pocket. 

“Cody, you take the Electrocutioner. Take it easy, he’s been doing this for years and knows what he’s doing. Raven, El Diablo. Rose and I will take Deadshot,” Gar ordered. 

“He morphed into a Siberian tiger and found that the ring did work; that the fur on his legs were white and not green. Letting out a roar, he prowled in front of the car, standing next to Cody. The boy looked nervous, and he considered the fact that it was technically they boy’s first battle with a metahuman. 

“You’ve got some nerve coming here, beast,” Floyd Lawton said from behind his trademark white helmet. “Your names are all over the news. People are saying you should be shot on sight.” 

“And what do you say?” Rose asked, thumb hovering over the activation switch on her sword hilts. 

The hitman slung his rifle over his shoulder, turning his body to the side, taunting them. “I think you’ll make a nice fur rug,” he said to Gar. 

Next to him, Cody shot out a bolt of electricity at the Electrocutioner, who countered with his own blast. Rose activated the swords, a crystal-clear blade emerging from the hilt. El Diablo conjured a fireball, and Gar leaped at Deadshot, letting out a roar. Rose was right by his side, and rolled on the ground when he shot small bullets out of his gauntlet. 

Rearing up on his hind legs, Gar shifted into a grizzly bear and took a swipe at Floyd’s chest. He brought up an arm, blocking the two-inch claws with the metal armor. The claws didn’t quite penetrate the armor, but it did leave four deep dents, screeching as claws meet steel. He brought his other arm around, shooting at Gar’s arm. The projectile grazed his arm, taking a small piece of flesh with it. 

Floyd swung his rifle around his shoulder and shot a continuous spray of bullets. He shifted into a hummingbird, flying back and forth to avoid the bullets, one hitting his shoulder. Rose came up behind the hitman, slashing her sword at his back. The hitman made a sound of surprise, spinning around and blocking her next attack with the body of his gun. Shifting back to human form, Gar plunged his fingers into the wound in his shoulder and pulled out a single bullet, tossing it to the side. He approached Floyd from up behind, who was still countering Rose’s attacks, Gar elbowed him in the side of the head with his good arm. He stumbled a few steps and Gar grabbed his helmet, yanking it off and tossing it to the side, and Rose hit the side of Floyd’s head with the hilt of the sword hard enough to knock him out. 

“Go help Cody,” Gar panted, looking down at the unconscious hitman. “I’ll go check on Raven and Diablo.” 

Rose nodded and headed off toward the sound of crackling energy near the trees, and Gar lifted Deadshot up from under his shoulders and dragged him next to the Lambo, then followed Raven’s scent to find her fighting El Diablo, locked in a conflict between the pyrokinetic’s streams of fire and her own blasts of mystical energy. Gar transformed into a squirrel, leaping on Diablo’s face to disorient him and stop his attack, before leaping out of the way of Raven’s soul-self, surrounding him and easing his mind into unconsciousness. 

She ran over to Gar when she saw him holding his shoulder, and he held up a hand to stop her. “It’s just a bullet wound. I already took out the bullet and the tissue is regenerating itself as we speak.” 

“You say that all the time, Garfield,” she fretted, hovering her hand over the wound. Her hand began to glow blue and he watched as the small wound healed, the skin knitting itself back together. “Besides, you’re bleeding. And I doubt that Cody would want you bleeding all over the inside of his car.” 

Gar picked up Diablo’s body and dumped him next to Deadshot while Raven checked Floyd for wounds or a concussion. 

“There is something implanted in his neck,” Raven said, and Gar kneeled down next to her. “A small piece of metal. Destroyed and shattered into pieces. A device of some sort. It is no longer functional, but I don’t recognize it.” 

“It must be a nanobomb of some sort,” he said, recalling when he found Tim working on his computer late at night, and he had shown him the mugshots of inmates at Belle Reve prison. 

“Task Force X, or the Suicide Squad as we know them, are based here,” Tim had said, showing Gar a picture of the prison. “The warden, Amanda Waller, puts some of the most notorious inmates through a harsh training sequence, and if they pass through, they get placed on the team. To ensure they won’t try to revolt or desert, Waller has a nanobomb injected in their neck. They run, they die. They disobey orders, they die. It’s been said that Waller would even activate the bomb before any members were captured so that the operation would remain a secret.” 

Gar relayed the information to Raven and added, “it must have shattered when Rose hit him in the back of the head.” He shifted into a German shepherd and barked several times in Floyd’s ear to wake him up. Floyd jerked awake, scrambling away from Gar before his back hit the car door. 

“Jesus! What the bloody hell?” He exclaimed, pointing a gun at Gar, who shifted back and took his gun, tossing it to the side. 

“Let’s not get trigger happy, here,” he said. “Your nanobomb is broken. I don’t want to have to do your boss’s work.” 

“You wouldn’t kill me,” he grimaced. “You don’t have the guts to.” 

Gar tilted his head to the side. “No, but I can leave you here for her to pick you up, and you’d be good as dead when she finds you.” 

Suddenly, there was a crash and a bang, causing all the birds in the trees to flee. Gar broke into a run toward the sound, shifting into a jaguar mid-stride, and honed in on the distinct smell of ozone that Rose’s swords emitted. 

When Gar came across both Cody and Rose, what he saw is nothing short of brutal. Rose stood above Cody with her swords deactivated, and the boy was kneeling on the ground next to the Electrocutioner’s body. Where his head would be, there was instead a bloody stump, and a growing pool of blood underneath him. There were bits and pieces of bloody bone, as well as brain matter, splattered all over a nearby tree, with some blood on Rose and Cody. 

“Shit,” Gar swore upon taking in the entire scene. Rose watched Cody with a look of pity, and shrugged helplessly when he mouthed, what happened? 

“Azar,” a voice whispered behind Gar, and he turned to find both Raven and Floyd watching the scene play out. 

Gar knelt down next to Cody and noticed tear tracks running down his face. He didn’t look up when he looked at him, but instead said, “I-I killed him.” 

“Cody,” the shapeshifter said calmly and slowly. “Kid, can you tell me what happened?” 

He nodded erratically. “I think so.” 

He wiped at his face even though his hands were covered in blood, and started, “when Rose got here, he started taunting me, told me that I was gonna end up just like him. I didn’t know what he was talking about, so I ignored him at first, but then he said I’m not a real human.” He took a deep breath, letting it out shakily. “He said I was a clone. A clone of him, to be exact. He said he wanted a son that would carry on his legacy whenever he died. So he employed a cloning facility to create an exact copy of him to raise. 

“But one of the cloners found out who had employed them and what he intended to do with the clone, so she waited for the infant clone to develop, and took the baby out of the incubator and took it home. He said it took a while, but he eventually tracked the scientist down and caused an electrical malfunction in her car that caused her to crash into a utility pole, and he electrocuted her on the spot. He tried to find the clone, who was supposed to be a child, but law enforcement had gotten there before he did and the clone left the state. 

“He said that I was the child, the clone who was “stolen” from him and that once he served his sentence out in Belle Reve, he’d come for me and that he’d “rehabilitate” me to be a mercenary like him,” Cody continued. “I yelled that it wasn’t true, that my mom had given birth to me and my dad had left before I was born, but he said that I know how the metagene worked, that the gene is hereditary and someone in my family had to have passed it on to me. I shot a bolt at him and it hit his head and he screamed and there was a bang and…” he gestured vaguely at the body lying on the ground. “…you know the rest.” 

Floyd was the first to speak up. “Kid, you got it all wrong. You didn’t kill him. Electricity, no matter how fatal the output is, can’t make a man’s head explode. The nanobomb in his neck, though, can.” 

Gar turned to the hitman. “Waller must have activated the bomb when he was hit so it’d look like Cody did it.” 

Rose crossed her arms over her chest. “But why would they try to frame him? He’s a kid, he didn’t know what he was doing.” 

“That’s the point,” Floyd replied. “She must want him on the Squad. Young blood replacing old blood. Younger. Stronger. Faster. Easier to control.” 

Gar looked at Floyd, who had his helmet tucked underneath his arm. “We’d need to leave now, then,” Gar said. “Waller would need to pick up the Electrocutioner and Diablo. She might bring some backup.” 

Floyd nodded. “I’m not happy with traveling among wanted fugitives, but it’s better than being Waller’s slave.” 

Gar got up, offering Cody his outstretched hand, which he looked at for a few seconds before taking it. Helping him off the ground, Gar led everyone to the parked Lambo and got in the driver’s seat of Cody’s car, turning the key in the ignition. Floyd took shotgun as the car starts up, and when Gar looked at the GPS display, he found they still had three more hours of driving. 

OoOoOoO 

“There,” Rose said. “That should be it.” 

Gar glanced at her. “You sure?” He asked. 

“Positive. That cabin looks recent.” 

He put the car in park and turned it off, following Rose as she approached the rather large cabin, everyone else close behind. She didn’t even bother to knock on the front door, and turned the handle. The door opened with a creak of its hinges, and Rose called out, “Joey?” 

“Why are the lights off?” Cody asked, the first words he had spoken since leaving the Electrocutioner behind. 

“I don’t know.” Gar fumbled around the side of the wall before he found a light switch. “Got it,” he announced, and flicked it on. 

If Gar thought seeing the Electrocutioner’s headless body was surprising, then the scene in front of them was even more surprising. Three bodies lay sprawled out on the floor in various positions. By the looks of their gear, they looked like Army. 

“What the hell?” Floyd muttered. 

“Joey?” Rose shouted again, moving through the cabin. 

There was a creak from above them, and when Gar looked up he saw the legs of someone coming down the stairs of the second floor, and a second later, Joey’s blond head appeared as he peeked down at them. 

Oh, hi, he signed. Please excuse the bodies. I’m redecorating.


	7. A Plan

“Joey, what happened here?” 

He shrugged. Bunch of soldiers came in about two hours ago and were banging on the door. I knew not to open it, so I sat at the top of the stairs and waited for the first one to come in. The dumbasses didn’t think to cover their eyes, so I possessed them easily enough. He paused. Maybe they should have been equipped with guns that couldn’t penetrate their body armor. 

“Jesus, Joey. You killed them all?” Gar asked. 

He shrugged again. It was either me or them. He waved it off. Never mind. I imagine you’re all tired. You traveled for six hours and…he eyed Floyd, who wisely avoided eye contact, before settling on Cody, still covered in dry blood. You obviously got into a fight on the way here. 

Joey pointed upstairs. There’s a few bedrooms up there and two down here. One bath on second, one bath on first floor. Take turns. Knock yourselves out. The washing room is in the basement. Don’t touch any of the gear down there, Dad notices. 

Joey kicked open the front door and began dragging the bodies outside. While Cody, Rose, and Floyd headed upstairs — and encountered another body, judging by the fact that Floyd swore again — Raven and Gar took the ground floor, and Gar left the bedroom, heading to the bathroom to take a hot shower. 

He lingered in the kitchen for a while before he headed upstairs. All the lights were off except for one room, whose light seeped under the door. He heard soft sobs coming from behind the door, and Gar knew instantly who it was. He knocked softly on the wood, waiting for an invitation. 

“Who is it?” Cody’s voice croaked from behind the door. 

“It’s Gar,” he replied. A moment passed before he spoke up. 

“Come in.” 

Gar opened the door quietly, shutting it behind him when he ventured further into the bedroom. The young boy was sitting on the edge of the bed, his hair tousled and eyes red with tears. Gar kneeled down in front of him and let out a soft sigh. 

“Cody, you know it’s not your fault. You didn’t kill him.” 

“No, but I…I helped cause his…his death,” he said, chest heaving for air. “If I didn’t lose…lose my temper he would still be alive. But a…a part of me is glad he’s dead. He killed my mom — well, maybe she wasn’t my…my actual mother, but she was a better parent than him as a donor. But I shouldn’t…shouldn’t be glad he’s dead. I should be sorry for him but I’m not.” 

His eyes burned with anger as he added, “I hate him! He took away my best friend, the only person who treated me as if I was truly their child! And he took that away from me! He killed her! And I hope he rots in hell!” 

Gar put his arms around the young boy, who fought the embrace for a few seconds before he relaxed, bursting into tears. 

“I went through the same thing,” Gar told him quietly. “See, after my parents died from a boating accident and I joined the Doom Patrol, Steve Dayton and Rita Farr, his wife, adopted me as their son. But when the team was killed by their enemies, I personally hunted down my mother’s killer.” He stared at a part of the wall from behind Cody, pausing to remember the events. “Her name was Madame Rouge. And I remember being so enraged at her that I started to turn into creatures that didn’t even exist. I knocked her into some equipment that killed her. I felt guilty immediately afterward, but just like you said, I also felt glad she was dead. She paid for her crimes with her life. 

“The Titans tried to assure me that it wasn’t my fault, that it was the equipment that killed her, but we all knew. Had it not for me losing control of my shifts, I wouldn’t have knocked her into the machine that caused her death.” He met Cody’s eyes. “What I’m saying is that it’s normal to feel glad that he’s dead. But that his death is not entirely on your consciousness. He made his decision and you made yours. He just paid for it differently. It isn’t solely your fault he died. It is everyone’s fault, and you shouldn't have to take the blame for something you couldn’t control in the moment. The rest of your life shouldn’t be based on one thing you did. Regardless if you feel bad about it.” 

Gar rose, ruffling Cody’s hair playfully, and headed for the door, adding, “it’s been a long day and it’s late. You should get some rest, I don’t know how long we’re going to stay here for.” 

He nodded. “I’m tired…” he yawned, before laying back in the bed and flicking the lamp off, plunging the room in darkness. “’Night, Gar,” he said, his voice muffled from the sheets. 

He smiled to himself. “Sleep well, Cody,” Gar replied, before closing the door softly. 

He headed down the stairs and grabbed his uniform to put in the washing machine. Floyd was also down in the basement, but was looking at the various weapons Slade had hanging on the walls in what looked like an impromptu weaponry. 

“Great hitmen minds think alike,” Gar said after he stuffed the clothing in the machine. 

“Wilson is not a hitman,” Floyd replied. “He’s a mercenary.” 

Gar couldn’t help but scoff at him. “There’s a difference?” 

“Hitmen take on civvie targets. Mercenaries like him take on metahuman targets,” he replied. “You could say I value life more than Wilson does.” 

Gar crossed his arms over his chest. “I seem to recall that you were placed in Belle Reve under multiple life sentences for murder and assassination.” 

“Even hitmen have a code,” Floyd replied, not rising to the bait. “I will not kill children. I will not kill pets. I won’t take a contract unless I approve it first, no matter how much money I’m offered. No bystander casualties. I do not waste a bullet. I go in, kill my target, and get the hell out of there. Collect the money and move on to a new city.” He turned to Gar. “I’m not happy about traveling with wanted metas. I could turn you all in right now. What makes you think I won’t do it?” He asked. 

Gar paused, pondering his words and choosing his next ones carefully. “Because if you do, you’ll be returned to Waller. And she’ll either have to kill you or she’ll just put you back on the squad. And you hate being Waller’s slave more than you hate us,” he answered. 

Floyd didn’t talk for a few seconds before he said, “I thought you were supposed to be the immature one.” 

Gar faced the hitman, who met his eyes head-on. 

“I grew up.” 

OoOoOoO 

Raven was half-asleep and under the covers when Gar entered the bedroom, closing the door behind him softly to not wake her up. Slipping off his shirt, he crawled under the sheets, spooning up to her and placing a gentle kiss on her shoulder. She stirred a little, one eye opening slowly, and he took one of her hands, pressing a kiss to her fingertips. 

“You talked to Cody?” Raven asked groggily. 

“He’s good for now,” he replied. “I think he’ll feel better after a few hours of rest.” 

Her eye closed, a tiny smile spreading across her lips. “I believe you will, as well. Go to sleep Garfield…I’m tired.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled, placing his lips on hers for a brief moment, before settling in behind her, tugging Raven’s body closer to him. 

OoOoOoO 

Gar’s arms were empty when he woke up in the morning, and he scented the air, searching for Raven’s scent. She had left recently, possibly in the last thirty minutes, and he pulled on his uniform, tidying himself up before he left the small bedroom. Cody was sitting on the couch when he walked into the living room, watching something on architecture or something of the like, and waved when Gar walked by. His demeanor had changed since yesterday, and he seemed back to his old self, happy and throwing sarcastic remarks at the TV. 

Gar followed Raven’s scent outside, where he found her sitting on the front steps meditating. Gar sat down next to her, and found that she was wearing his shirt from last night, the one that he had the foresight to wear underneath his uniform shirt before him and Rose fled the tower. 

“It smells like you,” Raven said sheepishly when he reached over to pull the sleeve over her shoulder; the piece of clothing that was really too big for her, since the shoulders were a bit too broad. “Meditation is easier when I’m closest to you. I didn’t want to wake you, though, so I just wore this instead.” 

“You don’t have to explain yourself,” Gar told her. “Besides…” 

He leaned in toward Raven, lips brushing past hers teasingly before he hovered above her ear and added in a low and husky voice, “I think you look damn good in my shirt, Rave.” 

Raven laughed, the sound like music to his ears, before she pulled away, a twinkle in her eyes. She brushed her fingertips along his jaw, a smile still on her lips when she said, “I guess I’ll just have to wear your shirts more often.” 

“I’d like that,” he purred, leaning in towards her lips. She tilted her head up, her breathing shallow and excited. Her petal-soft lips touched his and Gar wrapped his arms around her lithe body as he kissed her. She tasted like peppermint and she ran her fingers through his short-cropped hair. 

The sound of snapping branches from far away caught Gar’s attention, and he pulled away from Raven’s lips, standing up and facing the direction where the noise was coming from. The door opened behind them and Rose stepped out. Rose wasn’t wearing her armor, but she did have one of the sword hilts in her hand. 

She locked eyes with Gar. “You heard it too?” She asked. 

He nodded. “Something heavy. Male. Probably injured,” he replied. 

A white-haired man suddenly bursted through the trees into the clearing, his clothes were tattered and there was a trail of dried blood on the side of his head. The gray undershirt he was wearing had a large, dark stain on the front, which looked like blood, some of it still fresh. His left arm hung at an odd angle, looking like it was pulled from its socket. His left eye was missing from the socket, scarred tissue all that remained, his other eye filled with desperation. He didn’t even seen to register that they were there, instead, he yelled out, “Joseph!” 

“Slade!” Gar growled, and the mercenary turned toward him. 

“Where is my son?” He managed to ask before a 400 pound bull rammed into his side and he went flying through the air, hitting a bush and rolling in the dirt. 

“Your son is fine,” Gar snarled, stalking him in the form of a panther. “You won’t be when I’m done with you.” 

Suddenly Joey ran in front of him, starting to sign frantically. He’s not here to harm you. He didn’t even know you were here! 

“I don’t care if he wasn’t here to harm us!” The shapeshifter roared. “I care about the fact that someone placed a hit on the tower and he had the audacity to carry out that hit! You put my team in danger, and for what? Pride? Money? You wanted to convert someone on the team to your side just like you did to Tara? Did you want retribution for when you got your own son killed trying to carry out a contract on the Titans?” 

It doesn’t matter what he did! Joey signed, getting frustrated. He did it because someone forced him to! He did it because I’d get killed if he refused! 

“Garfield, stop. He’s injured enough already,” Raven added from behind him. She scanned his injuries and added, “Someone tried to kill him, too.” 

Gar snarled at Slade one more time before he went back in the house, shifting back to human form. Cody and Floyd ran out of the house to help when Raven and Rose started to drag a half-dead Deathstroke into the house. 

“The general was disappointed that I couldn’t capture all of the Titans,” Slade was saying. “So he sent a squad to kill Joey, the Suicide Squad to round you up, and then he tried to shoot me. But the bullet didn’t penetrate the skull. Tossed what he thought to be my dead body out the third floor window. I got stabbed by a tree branch on the way down, but the forest coverage allowed me to escape before they tried to recover my body.” 

“How did they know Joey was here?” Rose asked while Joey came back with a first-aid kit from the basement, handing it to his father. 

“I don’t know,” Slade replied, taking the box and opening it. “He’s the General of the Army. He’s got a lot of resources, apparently. He said that the regular inmates at Belle Reve have started to be transferred to Slabside Penitentiary in the Arctic so the prison has been housing the arrested metas. Modified cells and equipment designed to suppress new inmate’s powers. I’ve even heard rumors that Superman turned himself in.” 

“It’s true,” Floyd said. “They got a cell that mimics red sun rays. Shines on him all the time. Never allowed to see the Earth’s sun. They brought in at least 10,000 new guards. Rumor is that they were all recruited from a secret society that’s been preparing for a metahuman war called Basilisk, that they’re tied into some kind of plot to eliminate metas that started with framing a meta for murder.” 

“If that’s so, you can help get us in,” Gar said to Floyd. “We’ll look through the prison and try to find any clues about the plot, uncover it so people will know it wasn’t the Flash’s fault, and release whoever is imprisoned there.” 

“Why should I help you?” Floyd asked. “The bomb is destroyed. I’m free from Waller. I don’t have to stay with you freaks anymore. I could walk right out that door and you can’t stop me.” 

Gar ignored his jest and said, “if you can get us in, and this all goes well, then I’ll make sure that your record is stripped clean, and we’ll set you free.” 

Everyone, even the Terminator, looked at Gar in surprise, and even Floyd seemed taken aback by his statement. Gar took advantage of the silence and added, “we have the tools to do it. No more running, no more false identities. I will personally ask to clear your criminal record of everything. You can settle down in one place and not have to run from country to country and taking contracts along the way. All I’m asking you to do is help get us in undetected. If we survive and word gets out, I will keep my end of the deal.” 

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” The hitman asked. “For all I know, you could just turn me in to Waller and I’ll be a dead man. Besides, Basilisk employs super-soldiers that wont hesitate to kill.” 

“I’m not the kind of guy to double cross or betray someone,” Gar replied. “If you need time to decide, that’s fine. But you’re gonna have to decide if you trust me enough to know that I’ll keep my end of the deal…if you just keep yours.” 

Floyd looked at the ground and seemed to mull it over, before saying, “fine. I’ll help you. But I owe you nothing else.” 

Gar nodded. “Fair enough.” 

“If you can get your girlfriend to teleport to the place I need you to be, then we can leave tonight at dusk,” he added, and left the room. 

Raven came over to stand at Gar’s side. “Can we talk?” She asked. Gar nodded, and she took his hand, bringing him into the bedroom they shared the night before, shutting the door behind them so no one in the living room would hear. 

Raven stopped and turned toward Gar. “You still love her.” 

Gar leaned his back against the nearest tree, crossing his arms and not meeting her gaze. “Yes. No. It’s…” Gar sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s complicated.” 

“I can keep up.” 

He closed his eyes, hesitant to look at Raven for fear of seeing things in her eyes that he didn’t want to see. “Tara…I think that some part of me will always love her. On a subconscious level. I was young and naive, but in fifteen-year-old me’s eyes, she was pretty and she…I considered her to be my first girlfriend.” 

“I thought Jillian was your first girlfriend.” 

“She was. But we never kissed or anything. We went out sometimes, but it was nothing serious. She was a friend. Besides, she left after Tara’s clone appeared. She threatened to attack Jillian if she ever saw me again. I lost contact with her years ago, and after you, I was pretty closed off to the thought of going out with anyone else again.” 

“So you only still…hold feelings for her because she was your first?” 

He nodded. “It was only after the Black Lantern’s attack on the Tower that I realized though a part of me would always love the idea of her, I didn’t need her anymore. I didn’t think about her anymore. Besides, the animals have been there ever since I went through Dad’s treatment. I realize now that if Tara really was who I would be with, they would have chosen her rather than you.” 

He heard her soft footsteps approaching him, and as he felt her fingertips graze along his jaw, he opened his eyes, meeting hers. Relief came over him as he saw love and compassion in her eyes, rather than disappointment or anger. Raven leaned her head against the middle of his chest, hand still tracing the line of his jaw, and he rested his chin on the top of her head. 

“What about you?” Gar asked. “With Wally and Jericho?” 

Raven cast her eyes to the ground and said, “Wally was almost like what happened with you and Tara. I will always hold a soft spot for him as a Titan and a friend, but I do not think I love him anymore. I don’t believe I loved him at all, not after I felt the emotions you stirred up in me. Not after I felt this.” Raven places her hand over the middle of my chest and lets out a soft sigh before continuing. “Joseph…Joseph and I were close friends. He was always willing to listen to what I had to say or if I had to get something off my chest. He understood, I believe, what I might have been going through, and I owe him almost my life for stopping Eric before he could devour my soul. But I spoke with him yesterday…while you took a shower and talked to Cody. I think he is…jealous of you.” 

Gar couldn’t help himself, and he burst out laughing. “Jealous of me? For what?” 

“Because I am with you. I believe Joseph may have held some kind of feelings for me earlier when he was on the team, but knew it would never go anywhere because of my father. He remembers very little about attacking the team multiple times and only knows whatever the Terminator told him. So he may still harbor feelings deep down.” She leaned into his body, placing the side of her head on his chest, over his heart. “I made it clear to him that though I considered us friends, I am still in a committed relationship with you. I told him I loved you. And he said that he wouldn’t challenge that.” 

Gar held her closer to his body and she melted into his embrace like a fragile animal. 

He was about to say something more when there was a knock on the door. “Hey, when you’re ready, Deadshot has some stuff to go over on Belle Reve,” Cody said. 

Raven hummed against his chest, hands still on his shoulders, and he pulled away from her gently before opening the door and following Cody back to the rest of the group. 

Everyone was hovering over the coffee table when they walked in the door, with Floyd poring over a map of some sort. When Gar got closer, he saw that it was a map of Belle Reve. 

“Belle Reve is one of the most secure prisons in the world for metahumans,” Floyd said. “The administration there is ruthless and the guards are the best available. Its capacity is roughly 5,000 individuals and to discourage plans of escape, shakedowns and guard duty are random. Never the same guards, never at the same time. Inmates are stripped and searched thoroughly every time they exit a room.” 

Floyd pointed to one area of the prison. “Cell Block A. What you think of when you think of a prison: cells lined up side by side with metal bars. Given food trays through the food door. They use power dampeners provided by the DEO here. Though it’s usually used for newbies until they get reassigned, on rare occasions a misbehaving inmate can get relocated here, if the offense isn’t major.” 

“Cell B and C are general population. All cells are built to accommodate the prisoner’s abilities. In the case of Diablo, they had a cylindrical cell placed outside the prison that was always partly filled with water, though if he tried anything the guards could completely flood it. The Electrocutioner’s cell was lined with rubber, and any guards who were in the same room as him also wore rubber-insulated gear. 

“Finally, Cell Block D is isolation — where prisoners who are deemed too dangerous to other inmates or guards to be placed in gen pop. They have four Holes down there, for inmates who are charged with severe offenses, whether it’s using your powers or somehow being in possession of contraband. Those are the cells where they’re locked in a room 24 hours a day with no light, no human contact, no bed, and fed three times a day with only a metal grate in the floor leading to the sewers to shit in. It guarantees obedience if you’re in there for just one day. There are rumors, though, about an inmate in C who smuggled in a shank and slashed a guard’s throat. The guard lived, but the guy was thrown in the Hole for three months and when they pulled him out they actually had to check him into Arkham.” 

“And the government is completely okay with that?” Cody asked. “I thought Holes were outlawed in prison years ago.” 

“One, the state government doesn’t know that Belle Reve has Holes. Two, even if they did know, they wouldn’t care. By their standards, we’re not normal, so they can use unconventional means of punishment. The Eighth Amendment, prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, apparently doesn’t apply to us. 

“At one point Waller conducted an experiment. She wanted to know what complete isolation did to the human brain. Captured one of Brainiac’s clones and threw him in there and monitored how long it took him to go insane. Took just ten days to make a 12th level intellectual start to see things and talk to himself. 

“Moving on,” Floyd said, pointing to another point on the map. “Right here is where the kitchen’s trash deposits. It’s higher up since the kitchen sits on the second floor, and the chute only opens from inside by a switch. It should be able to fit an entire adult male through the opening, but it has to be opened from the inside first. You can’t teleport in the prison, either. DEO came up with some sensor that detects porting energy or something. Sets off an alarm and the entire prison goes on lockdown.” 

“I could turn into a bug and get in through the cracks of the door, then open it once I’m inside,” Gar offered. 

Floyd locked eyes with him and said, “risky. I like it. But once we’re all in, we need to stay in groups of two and go different ways. One pair should go to the monitor room and help guide the others, who should go up to the warden’s office and try to see what they can find. It’s best not to engage the guards because one tiny mistake and suddenly the prison is on lockdown and everyone’s cover is blown, but if you must engage them, you will have to kill them quickly and quietly, then hide the body. You cannot, and I say again, cannot hesitate, or we will all end up behind one of those heavy metal doors or thrown in the Hole.” 

“What will we be looking for?” Rose asked. 

“Anything that has to do with eliminating metahumans. Preferably anything that applies to the situation we have here,” Gar said. “Will you be coming, Joe?” 

I’ll be coming with you, but I don’t know if Dad will go too, he signed. 

“Like hell I’ll let you go into that hellhole without me,” Slade answered. 

Gar exhaled. “Okay. Then after we break in, Slade and Joey will scope out the prison and try to find where they’re keeping the heroes. If you find Superman, you might find everyone else. Superboy will be with him…” he paused, glancing at Slade. “…and you know why. Rose, Cody, and Floyd will go to the warden’s office and try to glean any information about the plot. If any of the information is digital, load it onto a USB stick. Raven and I will go to the monitor room and keep tabs on everything.” 

He glanced at the clock and said, “we have seven hours before we depart. Get your gear ready, get some sleep if you can, try to relax before we leave.” 

Everyone in the group left the room, leaving just Gar and Raven. He sat at the edge of the couch, studying the blueprints of the prison, and Raven approached from behind, placing her hands on his shoulders and massaging the tense muscles there. 

“You told everyone else to relax, Garfield,” Raven whispered in his ear. “Why don’t you do the same?” 

He tilted his head back to stare into her eyes and offered her a lazy smile. “Well, you started to work on that the minute you were giving me a massage.” 

She flushed, and he moved his arm over his shoulder to the back of her head. Raven leaned down and kissed him before he pulled away. He offered his hand to her, and she looked at it for a second before placing her hand in his. 

He led her out of the house before he scooped her up and carried her, bridal-style, into the trees. He went uphill for a while before coming across a small clearing that overlooked a lake below. Gar put Raven down before he turned into a golden eagle and landed on her shoulder. She rubbed her finger on his head and he squawked softly, spreading his wings a little. 

“It’s beautiful,” Raven said quietly after taking a moment to appreciate the view. 

Almost as beautiful as you, Garfield thought to himself. He saw Raven smile slightly, most likely feeling his shift in emotions. 

“Truth be told, Raven, I don’t really expect to return from this mission,” Gar said. “I mean, we’re breaking into Belle Reve, of all places. They’ve most likely upped their security since they have powerful metas there now.” 

“We won’t know until we try,” she answered. “We either get captured, free everyone, or die in the process.” 

“Right,” he replied. “Great odds.” He looked at her, his eyes meeting hers. “But I didn’t drag you in here to talk about our odds. I came to talk about something else.” Flying off her shoulder, he shifted back to human form and turned towards Raven. 

He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to say. “Raven, you know I love you. For better or for worse. I trust you with my deepest secrets and you trust me with yours. I feel like I know you better than I know myself, and that’s saying a lot, because I know almost everything about myself, ’cause I’m me, you know?” 

He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “I-I know what I want. And right now, I want to call you mine for as long as I live. I want to be the one to make you breakfast in bed. I want to be the one to spoon-feed you soup broth when you get sick. I want to be the one to watch scary movies with you in the middle of the night with all the lights out even though we both know it’s a bad idea. I want to be the one to hold you close to me at night. I want to be the only person you ever want to be in your life. I want to be that guy, Raven. I want to be something special in your life, someone you’ll always keep closest to your heart.” 

He reached into his back pocket, pulling out the small ring that he had been carrying around since the fall of the tower three days ago as he dropped to one knee in front of his chosen mate. “Raven, if we get out of this alive, will you marry me?” 

She stared at him, her mouth slightly agape in shock, before she whispered in a voice so quietly he almost missed it; “yes.” 

She sunk to her knees in front of him, a smile gracing her features. “Yes!” 

She threw her arms around his neck, knocking him to the ground and bringing him in for a hug. Gar wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in Raven’s hair, kissing the side of her head. 

“Raven, baby,” he said, voice low. “Raven, calm down.” 

Her arms wound tighter around his neck in response, before she kissed him, her lips soft and pliant beneath his own. Breaking apart, she laid her head on his chest, stroking his hair. “Yes,” she repeated, softer. “I will marry you.” 

He smiled and lifted her left hand, sliding the ring on her finger. She kissed him again and added, “I love you, Garfield.” 

Gar’s smile turned into a full-on grin. He slid his hands up her arms, grasping her shoulders, leaning forward to kiss her, but she pressed one finger to his lips, stopping him. 

“Not here,” she whispered. 

He understood her unspoken request and took her in his arms before heading back to the house, going into the room they shared the night before. Raven came up to him and placed her lips on his, before she put a hand on his chest and gently pushed him onto the bed. 

Raven climbed into Gar’s lap, cupping his face in her hands to kiss him as she grinded her hips down against his own. Gar slid his hands under her shirt and she pulled away from me, a smile pulling at the corner of her lips as she pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it to the side of the bed. She searched his eyes, a little bit of apprehension in hers, but overcome by desire. 

He felt his blood rush to a completely different part of his body at the thought. 

Raven set to work on his shirt, tossing it to the side and he fingered the straps of her bra. She sighed when Gar cupped her breasts in his hands, and her hands slid down the front of his chest to disappear into his pants. Raven cupped him in her hand, her eyes glazed over with lust, and he kissed the bite mark on her shoulder as his body responded to her touch. 

“How do you want it this time, Raven?” Gar asked, his face still buried in her neck. “Slow…” 

Pulling her shorts down her legs, her underwear following the piece of clothing, he tossed them over his shoulder. “Or fast?” 

Raven fumbled at the button of his jeans and he helped her, sliding them off until the only thing that separated her from Gar was his boxers. “Slow. Agonizingly slow,” she responded when she settled back on top of him. 

He grinned, and made sure the tip of his canine brushed her skin. “I can make you wait forever to come, Raven. You know I can.” 

She whimpered softly, only making his smile grow bigger. 

OoOoOoO 

Raven collapsed on his bare chest as he finished inside of her, grunting as his claws dug into her tender flesh. He came for what seemed like forever, the beautiful and naked woman in his arms letting out a content sigh as he spilled inside of her. 

Raven lifted her head from his chest when he was done, and captured his lips in hers for a slow and passionate kiss. His chest still heaved for air after their lovemaking, and she lightly dragged her fingernails down Gar’s back, though not nearly as hard as she did when he was thrusting inside of her. 

“I love you,” Gar said, his voice softer now that it was no longer that of the beast’s. 

“I love you, Garfield,” Raven answered. 

“Wife,” Gar whispered, his heart swelling at the thought. He wrapped his arms around her body, pressing her closer to his bare chest. 

She smiled against his chest. “You’ll have to wait a little longer to call me that.” 

“Mmmm,” he hummed against her fair skin. “But fiancée doesn’t have that much of a ring to it.” 

Her fingers stroked the planes of his chest, tracing the muscle there, and he brought one hand up to cup her cheek in his hand, brushing his thumb over her lips. She set to work healing the sctratch marks on his back, but he put his hand on top of hers, stopping her healing touch. 

“Leave it,” he whispered to her. He smiled and said, “it’s a souvenir. Like your bite marks.” 

She blushed, putting her head down on his chest, her fingertips brushing his jaw as Gar pulled her closer to his body. 

“I love you,” he said, kissing her neck. 

“I love you, Garfield,” she replied. 

He smiled against her skin and closed his eyes.


	8. An Infiltration

Garfield woke up to someone knocking softly on the door impatiently, and he groaned aloud at being shaken out of sleep. He set Raven’s sleeping form down carefully onto the bed, being sure not to wake her, before sliding out of bed. He was still completely naked, and he pulled his uniform pants on for modesty before he opened the door a crack to see who was knocking. 

“Wake your girlfriend up, lover boy,” Floyd said. “We leave in thirty minutes.” 

Garfield closed the door, thanking whatever god was listening that the hitman had not mentioned how Gar answered the door without a shirt on, how a black-haired beauty was sleeping in the bed behind him, and how their clothes were still strewn around on the floor. He knelt next to the bed near Raven, gently shaking her awake. 

“Mmm, Garfield?” She said sleepily. “Come back to bed…” 

“Can’t,” he replied. “We leave in a little bit…and we should probably take a shower before we suit up.” 

Raven opened an eye slowly before she sat up in bed, the sheets falling away from her chest to reveal her nudity. Garfield scooped her up in his arms and made a beeline for the bathroom, locking the door behind them before he heard the shower turn on, with Raven already washing her body. 

Raven had chose to wear the outfit that Cody had given her only two days ago, and Gar making sure he took the holographic ring. The rest of the group were waiting in the living room for them, sans Deathstroke, who could be heard in the basement stocking up on weapons and ammo clips. 

“We can’t TP too close to the prison or alarms will go off,” Floyd explained, picking up his optic helmet off the table and sliding it on when Slade returned from the basement. “I think the radius is about two miles around the outer fence. We’ll have to navigate the swamp for a few miles. Raven, can you teleport us as close as we can get to the prison?” 

The empath nodded, and closed her eyes. A swirl of dark energy materialized around them and the cabin disappeared, replaced by the sounds of the swamp. The waxing moon overhead gave little light, but enough so they could see the outline of trees and boulders. 

“Belle Reve is due south of us,” Deadshot said. “Two point three miles from current location. ETA thirty minutes if we move fast.” 

“Let’s get going, then,” Rose said, activating one of her swords and using it to cut away some of the dense foliage. 

OoOoOoO 

“What happened between you and Raven?” Rose asked when she fell into a rhythm of walking next to Gar. “You two disappeared for a while. We thought you’d be in the bedroom, but we didn’t want to disturb you.” 

Gar felt heat creep up his cheeks at the though of what had transpired only hours before with Raven. He tilted his head over his shoulder to find Cody talking to his fiancée animatedly. 

His fiancée. After all this was over, if they survived and metas were no longer hunted like animals, Garfield would marry Raven. It seemed almost surreal. 

“I asked her if she would marry me.” 

Rose turned her head to look at the shapeshifter. Her mask covered most of her facial features, but Gar knew that if it was off, the normally stoic assassin would have been surprised. 

“She said yes?” Rose asked. At Gar’s nod, she let out a small laugh. “Never would have thought you’d do it, Logan.” 

“I love her, Rose.” Gar’s face hardened, deathly serious. “I love Raven more than I love myself. I don’t want to spend another day without being near her. I’d die for her, would rip my own heart out of my chest before ever hurting her.” 

“I know,” Rose said. “You’d have to be a fool to not see that. As long as it doesn’t affect the mission. Speaking of which, why do you expect an answer for this…hunting down metas? I would think most people wouldn’t have their diabolical plans just lying around and waiting for someone to find them.” 

“You’re right, I don’t,” Gar said. “I want to go in, see if Floyd was telling the truth about metas being kept there, and if it is, then I want to free them all. But it’d be a good idea to check. We’re breaking into a maximum security prison, after all. We could be arrested for that alone, never mind the fact that we’re wanted fugitives.” 

“You really think Deadshot can be trusted? He’s a mercenary, just like Dad. Hell, if he turns us in to the warden he could probably get years cut off his sentence. Which, if what the rumors say is true, and he got a 116 year sentence, then any time cut off would be ideal.” 

“I don’t know, Rose,” Gar sighed. “But he’s our only chance to get into Belle Reve undetected. He knows it better than any of us do, and any help is better than none.” 

OoOoOoO 

“And we’re here,” Deadshot announced as the group approached the ten-foot tall chain-link fence that wrapped around the prison’s perimeter, topped by coils of barbed wire. “As far as I know, the fence isn’t electrical.” 

Cody walked up to the fence and reached his hand out to the links, jumping back a little bit when a small arc of electricity made contact with his hand. 

“Good thing he checked,” Gar heard Rose grumble behind him. 

“Can you siphon the electricity enough for us to pass through?” Gar asked. “Rose, cut the fence with your sword. Make a space large enough for us.” 

Cody put his hands on the fence, and small bolts of the electrical current pulsed around his hands. He grimaced but didn’t let go, and Rose took out her sword to cut the chain link fence. Once everyone had passed through and was on the prison side of the fence, Cody let go and followed them, but Gar noticed both of his eyes were a bright blue, and he retreated when Gar moved closer. 

“I’m still containing the electricity,” the boy explained. “Don’t touch me unless you want to be knocked out for the better half of a few hours.” 

“Okay, where’s the kitchen deposit?” Rose asked. “The sooner we get inside and away from the sniper towers the better.” 

Deadshot moved towards Gar before he even saw the hitman coming, and by the time he realized Floyd meant to attack him, he was on the ground with a gun in his face. Joey tried to go near Deadshot, but backed off when he fired a warning shot next to Gar’s head. 

“There is no trash chute,” Deadshot said calmly. “I’ve been playing you. This was the plan the entire time.” 

“Why?” Gar asked. “I promised you a clean slate — ” 

“You make empty promises,” Deadshot said. “When Deathstroke failed to capture you and Electrocutioner recognized his boy, the Army general ordered us to take you in instead. We were outnumbered and outpowered for a reason. The plan was for one of us to get captured, lead you here and spring the trap. We didn’t plan for Deathstroke and Jericho to survive the attacks on them nor the Electrocutioner’s boy to be so powerful.” He raised his head towards Raven, whose energy was visibly crackling. “Don’t bother with your tricks, witch, or I’ll blow pretty boy’s head off.” 

Behind him, Cody put his hand on Deadshot’s shoulder, and with a flash of his eyes, the electricity he had absorbed from the fence poured into the hitman, who didn’t even have time to utter a sound before he collapsed on the ground. Gar rolled to the side just as a reflexive shot from the gun discharged, the bullet hitting the ground next to his ear. 

“We need to get out now,” Rose said. “If it’s a trap like he said, then he’s expected to bring us in soon.” 

“No, we need to break out everyone in there. He’s still a part of a larger plan, and his boss must be in there,” Gar said. 

Maybe his boss is the same person who put the hit on all metas in the first place? Joey signed. 

Gar snapped his fingers at the mute son of Deathstroke. “Yes. Possible. We should maybe look into that further, once we find the heroes they locked up.” 

Next to him, Cody sent another pulse of electricity into the hitman’s body. “To defibrillate him,” he explained. “I accidentally stopped his heart with that. He should be out for the next few hours.” 

“Alright, let’s go,” Gar urged. “Slade, do you have a grenade?” 

“Is the sky blue?” He retorted. “Yes, I do. What do you need it for?” 

“Blow the wall,” Gar instructed. “Raven, check for anyone on the first floor in the vicinity. Don’t want to harm anyone. Once we’re in, Joe, Rose, Slade, check cell blocks A and B. Raven, Cody, and I will take C and D.” 

Once the side wall of the prison had been blown away, Gar, Raven and Cody split off from the rest, first heading for isolation. Lone inmates in their cells, all people who had been there before the hit on metahumans, stopped what they were doing to watch the group pass endless corridors. Most of them were empty, validating what Deadshot had said about the prison moving inmates, but Gar recognized no heroes anywhere. 

“Rose is calling,” Cody said, holding up the spare T-Communicator Gar had given him for communication purposes. “She says they found one. Someone from the Seven Soldiers of Victory. Says their name is Shining Knight.” 

“Yeah, heard of them,” Gar said. “That means Deadshot was telling the truth about heroes being sent here. Cody, you take the west wing of block C. Raven, go east. I’ll keep searching block D.” 

Cody nodded and rushed off toward the area, and Gar turned to Raven before she left, quickly giving her a kiss and adding, “stay safe.” 

The empath nodded. “You as well,” she said, before heading in the opposite direction from Cody. 

Gar recognized a few faces in isolation, however they were mostly villains and prior inmates. His head pounded — it had ever since he entered the prison, but he pushed the feeling away, focusing on his mission: get as many heroes out as they could before Deadshot’s employer suspected anything. It took nearly ten minutes for him to find a hero that was captured by the government, but he didn’t even recognize them and had to trust their word that they had noble intentions, and would not rat them out to whoever Deadshot’s “boss” was. 

“I found Superman,” Cody announced twenty minutes into Gar’s search. “Found him with a piece of kryptonite. He’s got a high fever and delirium, so I’m staying with him until he can stand up on his own.” 

“He was in block D?” Rose asked. 

“No, I’m in C right now. He’s the only person I’ve found so far,” Cody replied. “Everyone else is — ” 

A scream pierced the air, and Gar dropped his communicator, shifting into a lynx before the device even hit the ground, his ears turning toward the scream’s origin, and he took off down the hallways as a cheetah just as another scream reached his ears, this time a shout of his name. 

“Raven!” he shouted, having recognized who the scream belonged to. It was a scream he heard only in his nightmares, but it was one he knew far too well for his liking. 

It took him eight seconds to reach cell block C, and once he was there he slowed down to turn back to human form. A small piece of his mind realized he had left his communicator on the floor where he had dropped it, and now had no way of reaching the others. It could be a trap, the rational part of his brain said. Garfield paid no heed to that part of his mind, only focused on finding Raven, wherever she was. 

“My, you’re fast,” a voice said from behind him. 

Garfield whipped his head around to see the outline of a figure in one of the open cells. He started to shift into a tiger, but something was stopping him from changing, and all he managed to change was his claws. 

“Ah, yes. The power dampener does its job well. Quite expensive, I must say, but now I see it was worth it.” 

The figure stepped out of the shadows of the cell, revealing a tall, cloaked man with hair down to his shoulders. His ice cold blue eyes stared Garfield down, almost daring him to try rescuing a half-changed Raven, whose two eyes had become four burning red ones. He had a dagger pressed against Raven’s fair skin, made of some material that burned her skin when the blade touched her. He was holding her at such an angle that if Gar tried to do anything, all the man needed to do to crush his spirit was to flick his wrist, dragging the blade across her exposed throat. 

“Okay, just…put the knife down, man,” Gar said, trying to not let the panic seep into his voice. “Just put it down and we can talk, alright?” 

The man smiled eerily at the shapeshifter. “Ah, so you care for the half-breed. Interesting.” The man shifted, looking down into Raven’s infernal eyes. “Her blood speaks to me through the blade. Her blood is corrupted, but her heart is pure. These new developments are incredible,” he continued, talking to himself as if Garfield weren’t standing there. “Her blood will keep me alive for centuries, if not millennia.” 

“You’re talking crazy. Hell, you are crazy,” Gar said. “I’m telling you, put the knife down and we can work this out. No one has to get hurt.” 

“They told me you’d try to talk me down. I see you haven’t changed, Gar Logan.” He pressed the blade harder into Raven’s skin, and Gar fought the urge to not leap at the strange man when he saw beads of red grow under the sharp edge. She made a small noise of pain and Gar’s claws unsheathed on their own, the instinct to attack the person who was hurting his mate growing stronger. 

“But change can happen very quickly,” the man said, and flicked his wrist, making a clean cut across Raven’s throat, cutting deep. 

Garfield screamed in horror, and leapt for Raven’s body, not even stopping to attack the man who just ruined his entire life, only focused on Raven. He caught her before she hit the ground, cradling her broken body in his arms. Unable to speak due to the deep wound in her throat, Raven could do nothing to try comforting the devastated shapeshifter, the sound of her body being drained of its blood the only thing he heard as she tried to speak. Other than his own sobs, he didn’t hear anything outside of their small cocoon of despair. 

She reached for his cheek, and the engagement ring on her finger flashed in the artificial lighting, which only served to make Gar cry harder. He’d never get to marry her, never see her in her wedding dress, never make love to her the night of their wedding after this. Her fingers brushed his cheek softly, and her lips moved in a familiar way, trying to say she loved him before her life expired. 

He returned the sentiment, but it didn’t feel right having her bleed to death in his arms as he told her he loved her as well, and the proverbial knife in his heart twisted just a little more as she managed to give him one of her signature smiles just before her entire body went limp, blank eyes staring at something she’d never see again. 

Gar fell to his knees, not caring that he was kneeling in a pool of her own blood, cradling her lifeless body in his arms as he screamed his rage, his grief, at the surrounding gray walls of the prison. The woman he loved was dead, taken away from him just as he thought he’d have her for the rest of their lives. 

Just another name to add to the list of people he’d loved and lost. 

OoOoOoO 

“The youth of today are so easy to break,” a voice chuckled from the shadows of the cell block. Stepping onto the main floor of the prison, surrounded by cells, he observed the animorph lying on the floor, paralyzed in horror as the false scenes played out in his mind. 

“You’re probably too far from reality to comprehend what I’m saying,” the man that Gar had seen in his mindscape said, moving to stand over his body. “But everything you’re seeing is fake. Though a portion of it is manufactured in your subconsciousness, it is outside interference that made it come to the forefront. But I’m being rude. I haven’t introduced myself.” 

The man dropped down to a crouch next the animorph lying in the fetal position, and grinned at the pained expression on Gar’s face. “My name is of a language not known by people for a very long time, and cannot be easily transliterated in English. So instead…” 

He unsheathed the knife Gar had seen in his vision from a scabbard at his hip, lifting it up so it glinted in the artificial light. 

“You can call me Vandal Savage.”


End file.
